How SodaStream Took on the Super Bowl—and Lost, Then Won

Did you hear that a high-profile ad scheduled to air on this Sunday’s Super Bowl broadcast was rejected because of its explicit content? No, I’m not talking about the curvy Kate Upton BMW ad. That’ll air.

I’m talking about an ad for SodaStream, a carbonated-water maker. The ad’s offense is explicitly taking on Coca-Cola and Pepsi, two of the largest and most iconic U.S. advertisers. CBS rejected the ad, reportedly because of its direct assault on the big two carbonated-beverage makers (CBS didn’t return calls for comment). As the music from the movie Deliverance trills, deliverymen from Coke and Pepsi show up at a supermarket and rush to deliver their products. But the bottles pop and disappear, creating a mess. The ad then pans to a shot of a guy using SodaStream. The implication is that SodaStream will make bottled sodas irrelevant. Here’s a description of the ad, designed by Alex Bogusky (one of the creators of the highly successful Burger King and Mini Cooper campaigns).

I have a soda stream and it sees use at my house. I make fresh syrups out of berries for soda when the price is right. Usually I like to just squeeze a lemon or lime into the water and a little simple syrup.